How Can Cupcakes be So Annoying?

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe

By: Jenny Colgan

Grade: D+

Honestly, no book about cupcakes and bakeries should ever have annoyed me so much. Unless it was people trying to convince me that I’m wrong about not liking red velvet cupcakes. That annoys me. But still not as much as this book did.

Issy grew up with her grandfather who owned several bakeries and after being fired from her job this book is mainly about the struggle to open her own. It’s not even that much of a romance (which usually would have been a plus for me) it’s more about her struggle to make it on her own two feet.

So why did it annoy me?

Among other reasons it was: 1. Way too long. The book suffered from jumping around too many POV’s and many of them truly didn’t matter. I know it was kind of about the people who would make up her customers. But I just didn’t care. It drug.

2. We should not be in everyone’s head. Mainly Graeme. I believe there are people that obnoxious, obsessed and deluded in real life. I just don’t want to read their thoughts. Graeme was the typical “bad” boyfriend, on and off relationship that all these books have  and you know how it’s going to go but being in his head is just so… eye-rolling. It made Issy look stupider too fall for it.

3. The obsession with weight. Issy’s not just big on her own it was all over the place. I’m not even sure Issy could be considered overweight or normal. Not only was she obsessed with her own but the other characters as well. Especially poor Pearl and her kid. The fact that the kid was fat-shamed so much at the age of like three annoyed!

At one point Issy actually refers to him as her little, “chub-chub,” and another point, “man cakes,” in front of his mother! Who she knows is very touchy on the subject! Meanwhile she’s super quick to judge (as is the writing) the women who want their children not to eat her cupcakes! I also noticed to Graeme was always quick to compare his woman (another lovely perk of being in his head) Issy was soft and sweet and all those things while the ‘thin,’ and ‘beautiful,’ women were ‘sharp,’ and all edges.

In case it’s not clear Issy annoyed me more than I would have thought possible.

I do give this book a couple of extra points for including recipes that I hope to try soon. I just wish it would have included so much less of the above.

Recommend: Negative. Though I’ll get back to you on the recipes.